Oven door hinge mechanism



` Aug. 5, 1958 A. G. NELSON OVEN DUOR HINGE MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 16. 1955 i if b IN1/mfom' Aug. 5, 1958 A. G. NELsoN OVEN nooR HINGE MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1955 nvmvron. daa/ 776m United States Patent O OVEN DOOR HINGE MECHANISM Averd G. Nelson, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., assigner to Preway Inc., a corporation of Wisconsin Application March 16, 1955, Serial No. 494,655

2 Claims. (Cl. 126-191) This invention relates to a door control mechanism and particularlyto a mechanism for maintaining an oven door in predetermined positions and for controlling the movement of the door between such positions.

A generalobject is to provide a new and improved door control rmechanism i for maintaining an oven door in closed, partly open, and completely open positions, and for controlling the movement of the door between such positions.

A more specific object is to provide, in an oven having a front door pivotally mounted adjacent its bottom edge, a new and improved mechanism for controlling the door, including `a rearwardly extending arm secured to the door, a roller mounted` on the arm, a lever pivotally mounted on the-oven and extending forwardly for coop-eration with the roller, and means on the oven biasing the lever against the roller to move the door from its open position to an ajar position, to hold the door ajar, and alternately, to hold the door closed.

Other objects and advantageswill become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with .the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary frontelevational view of a range including an oven having a front d-oor incorporating my door control mechanism, the `door being shown in fully opened position in this iigure;

Fig. Z is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken at about the lieS-S in Fig. l, but with the door in a closed position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view` taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 2, but with the`-door shown in-an ajarf position; and

Fig".A 5 4is an. enlarged fragmentary: sectional t v'iew taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. l.

The invention further resides in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and while I have shown therein a preferred embodiment, I wish it understood that the same is susceptible of moditication and change within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to Fig. l, in a preferred embodiment, the invention is incorporated in an oven 2 forming a part of a range 4 which includes other cooking units not shown. The oven 2 comprises a casing having side walls 6 and 8, a top wall 10, a bottom wall 11, and a rear wall 12, which define a cooking chamber having a front opening 14 adapted to be closed by a door 16. A flange 18 formed around the opening 14 provides a door facing which limits closing movement of the door. The oven may be heated by any suitable means.

While a door control mechanism embodying my invention is associated with each bottom corner of the door 16, the mechanisms are alike in all respects and only one is illustrated in detail in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5.

In order to pivotally mount the door 16 for movement from a substantially vertical closed position to a substantially horizontal open position, a hinge plate 20 is ice mounted on the inside of each of the side walls 6 and 8 at the front of the casing near the bottom. Referring to Fig. 2, the hinge plate 20 mounted on the side 4wall 6 includes a flat body portion 22 adapted to be secured to the wall 6 by means such as the screw or boit Z4'. At its upper end the hinge plate 20 is provided with an outwardly bent flange 26 (Fig. 3) which registers with an opening 28 in the side Wall 6.

Projecting forwardly and downwardly from the body portion 22 of the hinge plate 20, is a hinge arm' 3ft-to which the door 16 is pivotally connected' by a pivot pin 32. Near the bottom of the hinge arm 30, an `integral hook-like lug 34 projects from the arm 30 andregisters with a slot 36 (Fig. 3) inthe facing 18,-Iestingon-tho lfacing at the bottom of the slot 36. The lug 34, `the screw 24, and the ange 26 rigidly support the hinge plate 20 on the oven casing.

The door 16 comprises rigid sheet metal plates v38 and 40 with an intervening stiffener plate 42; Thetinner plate 40 is slotted as at 44 to receive the hinge arm 30 project ing from the hinge plate 20. An arcuately curved door control arm 46 projects rigidly from the door structure 16, rearwardly and downwardly, through an opening 48 provided inthe oven casing at the rounded corner 50 (Figs. l and 3) formed at thevbottom of the oven by the juncture of the side wall 6 and the bottom wall 11.

At the free end, the arm 46 is provided witha dog 52 arranged to abut against a stop formed by an inwardly turned flange 23 on the body portion 22 of the hinge plate 2t) to limit the position to which the` door. 16 may be opened, as shown in Fig. `5. In this fully open position of the door, theweight of the door counterbalances any tendency of other mechanism to close the doorand the door will remain in this position until moved manually.

Inorder to control the movement of the door 16, a lever 56, vpivoted at one end on` the outside of side wall-6 at 57, projects forwardly and is arranged to bear on a part projecting from the ldoor t-:ccentrically of its pivot axis. As illustrated herein, the eccentric part comprises the arm 46 including a roller 54. mounted on` the arm 46 at the free end and projecting laterally outwardly of the oven casing (Fig. 3). The lever` 56 bears on the roller 544 at all times and is provided with cam surfaces its underside near the free end arrangedl to urge, the' door from the fully open position toward the ajar positiinxto maintainfthe' door in the ajar position, and toni'ainta the doorfclosed. A Vspring S81 connected atone`en.dtbt1ie midportion of lever 56 and at the other end to a plate 59 secured to the side wall 6, biases the lever downwardly and maintains it in engagement with the roller 54.

Near the free end, the lever 56 is notched or undercut to provide a rearwardly and upwardly inclined cam surface 61 and an intersecting surface 62 extending rearwardly, longitudinally of the lever. The surface 62 bears on the roller 54 in all positions of the door in moving between the fully open position shown in Fig. 5 and the ajar position shown in Fig. 4, to urge the door toward the ajar position. During movement of the door clockwise from the fully open position shown in Fig. S to the ajar position shown in Fig. 4, the roller 54 moves downwardly in an are about the door pivot 32, and the surface 62 moves downwardly and rearwardly about the lever pivot 57. During this movement of the door, the roller $4 moves rearwardly along the surface 62 to the surface 63 at the end of the undercut, and then forwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4, at the intersection of surfaces 61 and 62. After a short movement of the door from the fully open position toward the ajar position, the spring and lever overbalance the weight of the door and will move the door to the ajar position.

When the door is in the ajar position shown in Fig. 4, the inclination of the surface 61 is such that it opposes closing movement of the door. Thus, while the door is urged toward closed position by the surface 62, the surface 61 opposes closing movement and the result is that the two surfaces on the lever cooperate to hold the door in the ajar position as shown.

On exerting a moderate manual force, the door may be closed from the ajar position of Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 2. At the free end, the lever 56 is provided With a rearwardly and downwardly inclined cam surface 60, forming with the surface 61, a V-shaped projection on the underside of the lever. The surface 60 is arranged to bear on the roller 54 when the door is closed, to hold the door in that position.

On moving the door from the ajar position to the closed position, the roller 54 forces the lever 56 upwardly slightly and passes around the surface 61 to be engaged by the surface 60 which holds the door closed.

Only a moderate manual pull is required to open the door from the closed position to the ajar position. In moving the door from the ajar position to the fully open position, the roller 54 moves rearwardly and then forwardly along the surface 62, raising the lever 56. While the surface 62 urges the door toward the ajar position during this movement, near the end of the movement, the weight of the door overbalances the urge of the spring 58 and lever S6, and the door will remain in the fully open position as determined by the engagement of the dog 52 with the flange 23.

I claim:

l. In an oven having walls defining a cooking chamber with a front opening therein, and a door for said opening, pivotally mounted at its bottom edge for movement from a substantially vertical closed position to a substantially horizontal fully open position, a door control mechanism comprising, in combination, an arm extending rearwardly and downwardly from the door near its bottom, a roller projecting from the arm adjacent its free end, a lever pivotally mounted at one end on a side wall of the oven rearwardly of the front and extending forwardly for cooperation with said roller at all times, a spring anchored at one end on said side wall and connected at the other end to a midportion of said lever to bias the lever downwardly, and surfaces provided on the underside of said lever near the free end for engagement with said roller to urge said door from the fully open position toward an ajar position, to maintain the door in the ajar position, and to maintain the door in closed position, said surfaces comprising a rearwardly and downwardly inclined cam surface at the free end of the lever arranged to cooperate with the roller when the door is closed to maintain the door closed, and intersecting surfaces, rearwardly of the rst recited surface, arranged to cooperate with the roller to maintain the door in an ajar position, said intersecting surfaces including a rearwardly and upwardly inclined cam surface and an intersecting surface extending rearwardly, longitudinally of the lever, said last recited surface engaging said roller to urge said door from the fully open position toward the ajar position.

2. In an oven having walls defining a cooking chamber with a front opening therein, and a door for said opening mounted on a pivot adjacent its bottom edge for movementbetween a substantially vertical closed position and a substantially horizontal open position, a door control mechanism, comprising, in combination, an arm on the door near its bottom extending rearwardly and downwardly when the door is closed, a projection extending laterally from the arm and movable with the arm between a position spaced rearwardly and downwardly from the door pivot when the door is closed to a position spaced rearwardly and upwardly from the door pivot when the door is fully open, a lever mounted on a pivot at one end on a side wall of the oven rearwardly of the arm and having a free end extending forwardly and bearing on said projection at all times, a spring having one end anchored on one of said walls and the other end connected to a midportion of the lever to bias the lever downwardly against the projection, the pivot of said lever being located so that said projection and the free end of said lever move from positions beneath a line drawn between the door pivot and the lever pivot when the door is closed to positions above said line when the door is fully open to cause the projection to move rearwardly and forwardly on the lever, the length of said lever being such that the total movement of the projection lengthwise of the lever comprises only a minor portion of the total length of the lever, and said lever having on its underside near its free end, between the free end and said midportion thereof, surfaces engageable with the projection including a longitudinal surface to urge the door from the open position toward an ajar position, a shoulder surface to maintain the door ajar, and an inclined surface to maintain the door cl References Cited in the lile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

